The Closer You Get The Better I Feel
by sleepy-emo
Summary: A night alone between Tamaki and Haruhi brings out a confession of feelings both of them have been too scared to voice. Written for NaNoWriMo 30/50/15 - last in the series - inspired by Dido's song of the same name


**Well here it is the final story I wrote in November for NaNoWriMo. I didn't get through all fifteen of the stories I had planned but I did get to 13 and I'm pretty damn proud of that, also if you'll count up my word tally it comes to just shy of 61,000 which I am also really damn proud of. So here it is, the final story in my NaNoWriMo series, hope you enjoy it**

"Well," Tamaki said brightly, getting to his feet as I began clearing away the plates we had left after dinner. "thank you for a lovely evening. I'm glad I got to spend some time alone with you, outside of school and the Host Club and it was lovely getting to try your cooking."

"Thank you." I smiled at him. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." I wished he didn't sound like he was preparing to leave but I was still gracious enough to accept the compliment on my cooking, even though he didn't seem to have eaten that much – maybe he was nervous, I know I was. For weeks now I had had this night planned down to the last detail; I cooked his favourite food (well as close as I could get without spending over the odds for it), set candles and put on what I hoped was fancy classical music. Then after dinner we sat and talked and I made tea and everything was perfect for me to tell him what had been going on in my head for the last month.

Ever since the Ouran Fair and Tamaki had nearly run off to get engaged to that Éclair girl and I had gone after him I had wanted to be more than just his friend. I guess it was something that I had known for a while but I was only just them admitting it to myself. I was in love with Tamaki Suoh but I had no idea how he felt about me. I had waited, thinking things over for a month and waiting to see if he made any kind of move to sway my decision of whether I told him or not, but he didn't. So I realised that if I wanted him to know how I felt I would have to be the one to tell him, hence I planned this evening.

"So are you looking forward to starting your second year at Ouran?" Tamaki asked as we both went over to the sofa and sat down.

"Yeah," I replied smiling at him. "although it will be kind of strange without Honey Sempai and Mori Sempai."

"Yeah," he agreed softly. "I suppose it will."

"But what about you?" I asked. "You're going to be a third year." I should just tell him how I felt but I was circling for time with small talk but I didn't know what else to do – I was letting myself be a bit of a coward.

"Yeah," he smiled wistfully. "I'm hoping to be one of the top of my class when I leave…well my father hopes I will be."

"I'm sure you will be." I said and gave him an encouraging smile. He smiled at me and I wished his arm, that he had draped over the back of the sofa so very close to my neck would come to rest on my shoulder. It did twitch slightly but it did not move.

"So Haruhi…" he began suddenly before his phone bleeped in his pocket and cut him off. "I'm sorry." he said taking it out. He looked at the message he had just received and his face fell as he read it. "Apparently my grandmother sent a taxi to come and pick me up, it's outside. Apparently she thought it would be unbecoming if the family limo was seen in this part of town." He didn't mean for that last part to come out as it had done and as soon as he had said it I could see that he regretted it and wanted to take it back.

"So I guess your grandmother doesn't like me that much." I said looking down at my hands, which I had crossed in my lap.

"Well if it makes you feel any better she doesn't like me all that much either." he laughed hoping to make me feel better. I did laugh softly at that. I felt his weight leave the sofa and I looked up to see him slipping on his coat. "I should probably get going, if I don't she'll just keep badgering me and disrupting the night."

"Sempai wait!" I said suddenly as I saw his hand on the door handle. I don't know what was going through my head but I knew that now was the time to finally say something to him. I opened my mouth to tell him but the words seemed to fail me so I closed it again. Why was I being such a coward about this?

"Haruhi?" he asked looking at me a little confused.

"Leave your taxi waiting." I said finally. I bit my lip as he looked at me and I thought for a moment that he wasn't going to move. But he did. He took his hand off the handle, slipped his jacket back off and came back over to the sofa, sitting back down where he had been but a little closer than he had been before. There was a lot less distance between us now and I could feel the warmth of his skin against mine.

"Haruhi…" he breathed and leaned in a little bit closer to me. Despite my previous confidence as soon as he leaned closer to my face and there was a chance of contact I suddenly became very nervous and jumped to my feet.

"Er would you like some more tea?" I asked and practically ran to the kitchen to fetch some before he could answer.

"Oh," Tamaki sighed a little dejectedly but still sounding like his usual cheerful self. "sure that would be great." I pottered around in the kitchen, making the two of us more tea and willing my cheeks to cool down. I was being a coward again and allowing myself to be a nervous wreck. I took a deep breath once the tea was done and went back into the living room to see Tamaki sitting there looking serious. When I saw the look on his face I burst out laughing. "What?" he asked as I continued to laugh.

"You just look so serious." I told him. And it just makes me want you more. I thought to myself. He chuckled softly as I put the tea things down.

"Sorry," he said softly. "it's just you sounded so serious when you told me to stay I guess I just got a little skittish, if I'm honest."

"Yes I know you're nervous." I told him. "I don't think I've ever see you so unsure of yourself." He hardly touched his food tonight (which is a sure file sign that Tamaki Suoh is nervous) and all throughout dinner he seemed to be drinking more and more for want of something to do with his hands.

"Listen Haruhi…" he began tentatively. My heart jumped. Was he going to tell me what I was planning on telling him? Was that too much to hope? "There's something I've been meaning to tell you for quite some time now. I don't really know how to put this into words but…" he tailed off as whatever he had been about to say died in his throat, that serious expression back on his face once again. "Ah I don't know how to say this."

"It's ok, there's no need to hurry." I told him placing a reassuring hand on his arm. "Take your time, I'll still be here."

"Well," he began after looking down at his hands for a moment then looking back up at me. "we've been friends for a while now, haven't we. I mean when you first joined the host club I always sort of thought of myself as like a sort of father figure to you but slowly I realised that it was more than that. Ever since you ran after me at the Ouran Fair and wouldn't let me leave without telling me that you didn't want me to go I've been thinking about it – about you – more and more. I think, what I'm trying so say is that…" He tailed off again. I had never seen him this so unsure of himself and so self-conscious before, it was strange. I put my hand on top of his.

"Can I tell you something?" I asked softly.

"Anything." he breathed.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you too." I said. I bit my lip and took a deep breath, readying my courage. He had started so I was going to finish. "I've been thinking the same thing, ever since the Fair I mean. I haven't quite worked it out yet but one thing I know is that the closer you get the better I feel. The closer you are the more I see why everyone says that I look happier when you're around because they have commented on it that is. Honey and Kyoya both said that I looked happier when I'm around you."

"Are you really?" he asked, his face lighting up as I spoke.

"Yeah." I told him. "You make me feel happy and I like being around you and, I guess you could say that I er, well that is…" Now it was my turn to tail off and look away, blushing. The way that he was looking at me after I said that, like I was some kind of angel or something, made me nervous. The next thing I knew I felt his hand taking hold of my chin and turning my face towards his. He looked deep into my eyes and I could feel myself blushing deeply again before he closed the distance between us and pressed his lips softly to mine.

"Was it something like that?" he asked.

"Er yeah." I replied a little breathlessly.

"I feel the same way about you." he told me. "I feel much better when I'm around you and I want to be around you as much as I can. I know that because of the Host Club you have to keep up the guise of being a boy and I have to be the Prince for other girls but I would like it if, outside of school, you would be my princess." I beamed up at him.

"I would love to be." I replied before leaning in to softly kiss him again.

**13 down**


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